Chief of the Day: Sergio Santos. For parts of three seasons, Santos manned shortstop in Syracuse. He hit just.214 in 128 games in 2006. Three years later, the White Sox picked him up and made him into a pitcher. In 2011, Santos saved 30 games for the Sox. He has since moved on to Toronto and yesterday, unfortunately, was placed on the 60-day DL after right elbow surgery.

10:15 is our airtime today as the Chiefs take on the Hens. Join us for waffles. You bring the syrup.

*Will Rhymes was a member of the Mud Hens, in part, from 2008 until 2011. He played in 165 home games in Toledo over that time and hit .297 at Fifth Third Field.

*Catcher Brian Jeroloman makes his first start of the season with Syracuse tonight. If the name’s familiar, it’s because he played in 25 games with the Chiefs in July, August and September with the 2008 Chiefs. He hit .200 in 75 at-bats that year, the final season with the Blue Jays.

*Zach Walters moves down to the seven position for just the sixth time this season. He’s been found most often in the six spot (34 starts).

*Jeroloman is the 14th nine-hole hitter the Chiefs have used in 2013.

*Carlos Rivero is five-for-11 in the eight position this year.

Game time is 7 P.M. as the Chiefs face the Mud Hens. Download our app to listen. Search for Syracuse Chiefs in the iTunes and Google Play stores.

*Mr. Boswell from the Washington Post takes on the topic of Bryce Harper’s reckless abandon.

*The Toledo Blade’s John Wagner recaps a wild and wooly Mud Hen win. From the story–“You have to find things to hang your hat on — and build off them,” Mud Hens manager Phil Nevin said. “We’ve had a couple of two-game [winning] streaks and had things get away from us on that third day, and we very easily could have sunk back to that.”

Chief of the Day: Today, we salute an important member of the 1985 bullpen, Tom Henke. In Syracuse, Henke saved 18 games and allowed just 13 hits in 51 innings and a third. His ERA of 0.88 led the Chiefs. Henke went on to save 311 Major-League games. He’s one of 23 people ever to save 300 games in MLB.

It’s $5 a carload night at the ballpark. Chiefs and Clippers at 7 P.M.

Thank you Gene Wood, and a pleasure to be along with you all for the second installment of (Fourth) Rate the IL Hotel! If you’ve just joined us, this is the game where we assign a score to each of the hotels the Syracuse Chiefs stay in and tell you why.

This week’s contestant is the Durham Marriott City Center.

Nestled on Foster Street in downtown Durham, North Carolina, the Marriott towers over most of the buildings in the area and provides a generally pleasant experience for International League teams.

We’ll give you three pluses and three minuses.

Pros:

1) Heart of darkness

When I was a kid, I’d get back from school on certain days and my father would be asleep. He was an air traffic controller and was preparing to work an overnight shift. He’d already worked until noon or so that day. So, in order to be ready for his rather intense job, he needed to sleep. So, it was important that whatever I did was quiet enough to be considered considerate. Even more importantly, though, his bedroom had to be dark. So, he’d cover the window with a towel or something else to simulate nighttime.

In the “what I’d really like dad is to borrow the car keys” department, I now know how Rob Benetti felt. Sometimes–like last night–baseball games run long. So, real, restful sleep requires a person to slumber until after it gets light outside. For that reason, a baseball hotel gets high marks for having window curtains which:

1) Keep the room pitch black

AND

2) Cover the entire window

There’s not much worse than a sliver of light seeping through a cavernous room causing a 6:45 A.M. wakeup. The Durham curtains are unrivaled in the International League in the darkness they create. It’s virtually impossible to see in the room with the light off and the curtains drawn.

2) Food stuffs galore

Within a four-block radius of the Marriott is the best burger I’ve had at Bull City Brewery, the best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had at Dame’s:

Yes, that’s honey dijon, syrup, chicken and a sweet potato waffle…..

Plus, theres a slew of restaurants near the ballpark which include a pizza place, a Cuban place and a bundle of sports bars. Before this season, that made Durham the foodie capital of the International League. In 2013, though, there’s more. Just a block away from the Marriott, tucked away on a one way street lies some of the best ice cream in the world at The Parlour. To any International League travel wonks, go there. Fast. They make their own ice cream and it is superb. They also feature a creative team behind the counter.

The menu lists “ice cream sandwich” as an option. Seeing the pre-made cookie sandwiches in the freezer propped near the door, I asked the woman behind the counter if I could cook up my own ice cream sandwich. They said there’s no reason why not, and off we went. They plopped a few scoops of honey chai ice cream in the middle of two chocolate snickerdoodles and created frozen Valhalla.

Dessert so good, it can’t contain itself.

Sweet, flavorful ice cream + brilliant service = must-visit.

3) Elevation

Durham’s Marriott has two elevators for nine floors and I didn’t wait more than 30 seconds for a lift. An Otis miracle.

Cons:

1) Watered-down

In previous years, the Durham Marriott staff has put out fruit-flavored water in a jug next to the elevators. No dice this time, though the table is still there to taunt those of us who remember what used to be placed on it.

2) Key players

There’s a bank of doors on the side of the building which provides easier access to the hotel’s lobby by foot from the ballpark than the main entrance. After game one of the series, those doors were open. After game two, which was shorter than game one, the doors were closed. No need for them to always be open. Just be consistent. Post a time. Stick to it.

3) ‘net results

The internet access is still slow in spots. Precise spots. You know how sometimes it rains on your house and not your great aunt’s place a mile-and-a-half away? Internet in my room, 609, was spotty and generally slow. Chiefs trainer Jeff Allred, in 607, reported high, consistent speed.

Rating:

9 complimentary shampoos out of 10!

Tremendous work. See you next time, when the Chiefs travel to Toledo……will there be a pizza box in the room? A (Fourth) Rate the IL Hotel cliffhanger!

Well thank you Johnny Gilbert and thank all of you for coming along for (Fourth) Rate the IL Hotel! We’ve been renewed for a fourth season and we’re pleased as spiked punch. We’re so excited to tell you about the hotels the Syracuse Chiefs stay at, we’ve created a new rating system. That’ll be unveiled after this review of the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside!

Pros:

1) Club at the top of the hotel

After much key-card issuing (see con #3), the Chiefs broadcast contingent end up on the 10th floor of the Sheraton, as high as one can be at the hotel. It’s easy to be snooty when you’ve got to put your room key into a reader in the elevator to get to your floor.

2) Water

The hotel is next to some pretty awesome naval ships.

3) Beds

Comfortable sleeping. Cushy beds, perfect pillows.

Cons:

1) Wireless irritation

The Sheraton Waterside, like most hotels which think everything is getting comped, charges for internet. 10 bucks a day. This isn’t necessarily convenient, but it’s alright. Everything has a cost. So, I’m happy to fill in my room number and last name (355, Mandel is what I usually go with) to get the show on the road. There was, however, a major issue with the internet access at the Sheraton. Every two or three hours on average, I was asked to put my information in again. That led me to believe the bill for the room would look something like this:

Not only does that get irritating–I will never forget room 1019/Benetti for the rest of my life–but it gets expensive, too. The good news is, the internet was free because we were on the 10th floor.

2) Outlet maul

As a “business traveler”–defined as someone who is not in the city because he or she wants to be, but because instead he or she wants the employment which forces him or her to be–I have few needs. One is a suitable bed. Another is a shower. All rooms come equipped with these (unless you’re staying at the Days Inn in Dumfries, Virginia where, in my experience, you typically share the bed with a family of bugs who are interested in coming home with you, despite your use of the shower.). The third necessity is a power outlet or two. Even before a carpet, a dresser, an ottoman and assorted paintings and mirrors (which all rooms have, too), I need something where I may plug in my devices. They are essential now. Figure it out. The Sheraton had two outlets in the main room. They were next to each other in an odd pull-out segment on top of the desk (which, by the way, is useless unless you have something you’re working on which is set on the desk. Say, a computer.). I plugged my phone into a socket in the bathroom. Also, while I was still Lewis Black-seething about this, I walked into the hallway and saw an outlet. Yes, CFOs at the Sheraton, do not fear! The corridors at the Sheraton Waterside are perfect for your computing needs!

3) Room with a view….of others

Jeff Allred, the Chiefs’ trainer manages bumps, bruises, fractures, concussions and all things medical. Bet you didn’t know that he’s also in charge of letting the hotel know who is staying with whom on the road. This happens through a magical document called the Rooming List. Typically, the hotel gets the first List a few days prior to the team’s arrival. This allows management to get rooms ready and keys made for the team so the process of getting players into beds is smooth. It also helps night-shift workers who are generally alone behind the counter when the team gets there (we showed up at the Sheraton at 2 A.M. Wednesday). The only caveat is: the Rooming List changes when players are called up, sent down, released or otherwise. So, it’s a near-constant shuffle for the hotel folks to clear up room changes. The Sheraton played 52-pickup.

Kevin and I picked up our room key which sent us to the ninth floor. We opened the door to find one bed. Not exactly what we were hoping for, especially considering the rooming list indicating we required two. So, I went back to the front desk. The gentleman there handed me a key to a different room. Went there, opened the door…..to find…..Erik Davis and Ryan Perry getting ready to go to sleep! Four to a room! Nope. Back to the front desk. The attendant believed he had isolated which room was empty. He called a double room on the same floor and got no answer. Back upstairs…..key in door…..opened to a TV on……and Danny Rosenbaum! “So that’s who just called the room,” says a bleary-eyed Triple-A rookie who just wants some shut-eye after a nine-hour bus ride. Losing my patience, I ride downstairs one more time. The gentleman behind the desk says, “Again?” I say, “Yes.” He then says he’s going to call more rooms to see which one is unoccupied. I let him know that I’m not in the market for a game of room roulette with sleepy infielders. I ask him what the true best way to go about this is. He says, stonefaced, “Roulette.” He then begins to call rooms. I stop him and ask him to re-evaluate this plan, as it will result in players who are less-than-thrilled with me. After some discussion, he agrees and finds a top-floor room in his system which was previously reserved for a crew from the airlines who never made it in that night (just their luck). Worst part of the scenario: The guy’s insistence that someone else had made the mistake. Don’t blame your absent co-workers. Bad form.

Rating:

Two complimentary shampoos out of ten.

Stay tuned later this week for another edition of (Fourth) Rate the IL Hotel!

All season, teams will come to NBT Bank Stadium to stand against the Syracuse Chiefs. They will don jerseys emblazoned with animals….they will wield baseball bats of ash and maple….and they will attempt to make periodic contact with a pentagonal white object that they refer to as “home.”

They all have secrets. And those secrets are found in…..

The IL Files

Team: Durham Bulls

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Mascot: Wool E. Bull (The E stands for education)

Joined the IL: 1998.

How?: The Bulls were a Triple-A expansion franchise when the Devil Rays were added to Major League Baseball

A.K.A.: From 1902 through 1967, the team was called the Durham Bulls. In 1968, the name changed to the Raleigh-Durham Mets. The next year, it became the Raleigh-Durham Phillies. That worked so well, the name changed again in 1970 to the Raleigh-Durham Triangles (their logo was not a yield sign). Then, Bull Man beat Triangle Man for good and the team became the Bulls for good in ’81.

Other Leagues: Durham played in the Class D North Carolina State League from 1913 to 1917. The team transitioned to the Piedmont League from 1920 until 1943. After not playing in ’44, the team joined the Carolina League in ’45 until its run ended in ’97.

Notable managers: 1956–Jonny Pesky, for whom the right-field foul pole at Fenway Park is named. 1989-91–Grady Little, at whom hateful names were screamed from every spot in Fenway Park. 1928-1932–George “Possum” Whitted, who wasn’t lying in the weeds when his team won the league title in 1930.

Notable players: Bob Boone–Hit .300 in 80 games with the Raleigh-Durham Phillies in 1969 while playing third base (like his son Aaron, who may have caused one of those Grady Little epithets). Joe Morgan–The only Durham player in the Major-League Hall of Fame. Ron Gant–Led the Carolina League with 20 homers in 1986 before making his Major-League debut in 1987 with the Braves, where he played on back-to-back World Series teams.

Record holders: Woody Fair had 161 RBIs in 1946, the most ever for a Durham player. Johnny Vander Meer, the only player to throw back-to-back MLB no-hitters, struck out 295 for Durham in 1936.

Back-of-the-file: In 1922, to win their first-ever championship, the Bulls beat the High Point Furniture Makers for the Piedmont League title….the Bulls host the ACC Baseball Championship this year from May 22-26…this is the only blog post in history that does mention the movie “Bull Durham” when talking about the team….alphabetically, the last player to play for the Bulls is Andy Zwirchitz…

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